Detroit to Paradise

This morning I drove North to the Upper Peninsula, or UP as the locals call it. I’m again rubbing up against the Canadian Border, this time on Lake Superior.

The draw in this area is Tahquamenon State Park , which houses two main falls and many smaller ones. Upon arriving in town, I saw that I was down to a quarter tank of gas. I probably should have thought about filling up earlier, but didn’t think about the scarcity and price of gas once I crossed the Mackinaw bridge. This is the first time I have seen gas prices over $4.00 since I left CA. All the stations in town (such as it is) were listing $4.40, but not choice. Apparently it is also common practice in this part of the world to fill up first, pay later (with many threats listed if you pump and run). I went in to pay for my gas and mentioned to the clerk that this was the first time I had seen this arrangement. Without batting an eyelash or cracking a smile, she said “we have big guns up here.” OK, then.

Upon arriving at my hotel and reviewing the weather report, which threatens thunderstorms tomorrow morning, I decided to to out this afternoon to see what I could do in cloudy, but dry, conditions while it was still light. I decided to explore the Lower Falls. Even at 5 PM, it was still pretty crowed and families were still arriving with young children. The Lower Falls is too accessible and is used as a swimming hole on warm afternoons, so I was dodging people. It was only starting to clear out a bit at 6:30. I did what I could working around the people.

I may or may not come back to this spot tomorrow morning, depending on the weather. One way or another, I’ll go out to the Upper Falls, and see what else is around.